Silat Concepts Form to Function Paperback – January 1, 2004

Good in the hood

The first six jurus in Simonets system are the foundation for the other twelve. One nuance in this book is his admission that he no longer begins his jurus from the kuda position because he believes it counter-productive. Excellent photos depicting sequential performance of the jurus and application of the techniques.Worthwhile addition to any personal library.

Joseph Simonet has piled decades of martial arts experience into forming "Silat Concepts"; in this book, he demonstrates the forms and applications of the six jurus of the art. Jurus are similar to karate katas in that they are solo fighting patterns. These jurus are similar to those in other Silat schools.Simonet begins each chapter with a basic demonstration of the juru. Next, he shows the applications of the movements. What caught my eye is how he can take one movement and give it multiple meanings; this harkens back to the idea that he's teaching "concepts" alongside techniques. Along the way, he highlights some techniques, such as his "supported corkscrew punch". The last chapter shows how to combine movements from the various jurus in combat.I think this would be a good book for those studying Silat, as well as Jeet Kune Do concepts, which borrows some of it's themes. I also think it might be insightful to practitioners of kata- and form-heavy arts who are currious to see how certain movements may have different applications. Overall, very basic, but very nice.